February 15, 2017

L.A. Times - Beyonce loss to Adele was (wait for it) racism

It couldn't possibly be that Adele's album was better than Beyonce's. Nope. HAD to be racism. Had to be.

Beyoncé and Adele went head-to-head four times at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Both were nominated for album of the year, song of the year, record of the year, and best pop solo performance. In every category, Adele was awarded the Grammy. Every time, Beyoncé, the peerless pop music icon of our time, was told she came in second at best.

This should be a shock. While Adele’s singular voice, talent, and devotion to her craft are undeniable, Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” was as complete an artistic statement as we have seen in our fractured pop moment — a one-of-a-kind visual album comprised of genre-crossing track after track, conceived and produced on a scale unrivaled by any artist, living or dead. It was also a pitch-perfect rallying cry for black women to get in formation, their allies behind them, and forge a way forward despite the human imperfections of the men in their lives.

And yet, sadly, it isn’t. Unequaled artists have long bumped up against the glass ceiling that awards shows impose on black excellence.

Bam. Racism. To have to explain to some Beyoncé fan-boy or maybe a deluded Black Lives Matter activist that art is subject seems like a waste of time but thatès where we are at as a society. So here it goes.

A lot of people who have deserved more recognition at the Grammy Awards never got it. I'll admit I am not much of a fan of Beyoncé. I think she's a pale shadow of a Diana Ross or a Nina Simone (as examples). Yes she has talent, so does Adele (whom I am also only lukewarm on by the way). A lot of people never get their due, stars and regular people alike. Additionally, Beyoncé is no starving artist. I'm sure she can console herself with millions of dollars in sales, or just maybe the 22 other Grammy Awards she has won.

Maybe this was just Adele's year. Maybe she won each Grammy by a squeaky single vote ahead of Beyoncé. Nope. Had to be racism. I'm a fan of Stevie Nicks. In 1981 her album Bella Donna one of the best albums I've ever heard, lost to Pat Benatar. The album wasn't even nominated in the category. Stevie Nicks has never won a Grammy as a solo artist. Anyone who tells me that Beyoncé is 22 or more times better than Stevie Nicks will have a fight on their hands. Musical taste is subjective, always was and always will be. 1982 was when I decided that the Grammy's were irrelevant and stopped caring.